Statement Regarding a DCF Audit by Auditor Bump

Today I released the following statement regarding a two-year audit of the Department of Children and Families by Auditor Suzanne Bump:

“Today’s audit report issued by Auditor Bump reconfirms the risks posed to vulnerable children because of deficiencies and systematic problems at the Department of Children and Families.  Now, more than ever, it is clear that reforming this agency needs to be a priority for the Legislature and the Administration, and the job needs to be done in a timely and effective way.”

###

Statement on a Local Aid Resolution Agreement

Today I released the following statement regarding the announcement of a proposed local aid resolution:

“Local aid accounts are critical for municipal budgets and providing essential services such as education and police and fire protection, and an early local aid resolution is an important tool to provide valuable information to the municipal officials who are working now to write city and town budgets.

Because of that importance, consideration of a local aid resolution is a welcome opportunity for debate about how best to help our cities and towns.  In that debate we should consider the context of a likely increase in state spending of almost 5%, and aspire to reach beyond increases in Chapter 70 spending which account only for inflation and incremental increases per pupil that resemble those we have seen in the past.

Similarly, if the state budget is going to increase by 5%, we need to address Unrestricted General Government Aid more than we have over the past several years, and in a way that addresses the projected performance of the lottery and the needs of our municipal partners in government.”

###

Statement on the DOC’s Decision to Appeal Latest Kosilek Ruling

Today I released the following statement following reports that the Department of Corrections will appeal a 2-1 decision made by a panel of First Circuit of Appeals judges that ruled to uphold U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf’s 2012 ruling that the Department of Corrections were in violation of Michelle Kosilek’s constitutional rights by denying her gender reassignment surgery:

“The recent decision made by a panel of First Circuit Court of Appeals judges to uphold an earlier decision ordering the Department of Corrections to provide a gender reassignment surgery for a convicted killer is not only outrageous, but injudicious.  Providing extraordinary surgery for someone who has committed 1st degree murder isn’t a wise decision for state tax payers and certainly doesn’t serve the interests of justice in Massachusetts or a precedent for the rest of the country.

I applaud Governor Patrick and the Department of Corrections’ decision to appeal this ruling. It sets a bad precedent that will result in serious ramifications that go beyond just the borders of the Commonwealth.”

###

Statement on an Independent Investigation of DCF

Today I released the following statement regarding an independent investigation of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families conducted by the Child Welfare League of America:

“A thorough and unbiased third-party investigation is necessary and important to correcting problems at DCF, and my hope is that the Child Welfare League of America can provide such an investigation.  At a minimum it must be as comprehensive as possible, be able to go where the facts take it, seek and use information from many sources, and be produced through a transparent, accountable process that is supported by sufficient resources to get the job done.

The facts surrounding the case of Jeremiah Oliver, and those that have surfaced as a result of that case, are deeply disturbing and they demand that we all work to address this situation in an effective manner.  I appreciate today’s update from Governor Patrick, and hope that he will continue to openly report on the progress of CWLA’s efforts.”

###

Statement on federal fisheries disaster aid, DMF public meeting on preserving groundfish industry

Yesterday I released the following statement, regarding the U.S. House’s passage of $75 million in fisheries disaster aid as part of the Fiscal Year 2014 federal appropriations bill, and the announcement by the Division of Marine Fisheries that it will be holding the first of at least three public meetings on protecting and preserving the groundfish industry at its Gloucester office on January 27^th:

“Now that funding for the fishing industry is on the fast track in Washington, it’s critical that we lay the groundwork for its effective use in Massachusetts to keep the industry alive through this ongoing crisis.  The meetings being conducted by DMF will be a prime opportunity to get that process started by building the consensus that can only come from focused and candid conversations with the people, businesses and organizations that are at risk.

I am pleased that DMF is responding promptly to the request that I have made with Representative Ferrante to get this discussion underway.  We need to make sure that money is being spent to meet the needs of fishing families and ports and not any particular bureaucracy or collateral interest.”
           

###

Statement on New Tax Increases

Today I released the following statement regarding the implementation of a 3-cents-per-gallon gas tax increase (with future increases tied to inflation), and a new 6.25 percent sales tax on computer software upgrades:
 
“Today, people who are working hard to pay their bills and employers who are trying to keep their businesses afloat in a stagnant economy are being hit with hundreds of millions of dollars in new taxes, taxes that could have and should have been avoided.  These sweeping new taxes represent the outcome of a choice the Legislature didn’t have to make, and now Massachusetts consumers and businesses are going to be forced to live with the consequences of that choice for years to come.

Both the House and Senate Republican Caucuses offered comprehensive alternative proposals during the transportation finance debate in April that would have paved the way for long-term sustainability, reliability and efficiencies within our transportation infrastructure without resorting to massive increases in taxes and spending.  Republicans offered a series of reforms that sought to capture the billions of dollars in promised savings from the 2009 Transportation Reform Act that have gone unrealized, while increasing the efficiency and integrity of the state’s transportation system and expanding partnership opportunities with the private sector, but those reforms were largely ignored.

In our quest to finance transportation improvements, we should not have forgotten our responsibility to protect the interests of the taxpayers and the state’s economy.  Unfortunately, we have lost sight of our obligation to the taxpayers, and now consumers and employers are left with a regressive gas tax increase that is running on auto-pilot, with no legislative accountability, and a new tax on computer software upgrades that the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation warns ‘strikes at the heart of the innovation economy and will stifle job creation for years to come’.”

###

Statement on the release of the Senate Ways and Means FY14 budget

Yesterday I released the following statement, after the Senate Committee on Ways and Means unveiled its $33.9 billion budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2014:

“The Fiscal Year 2014 budget proposal released today by the Senate Committee on Ways and Means clearly rejects once again the massive tax and spend measures that have been advocated by Governor Patrick, and responds to some important spending priorities such as transportation, special education and police training.  It also provides a “killed in the line of duty” death benefit for the family of slain MIT police officer Sean Collier, which is the right thing to do in light of the ultimate sacrifice made by this young officer who had such a promising life and career ahead of him.

The Senate Ways and Means budget makes a notable effort to reduce spending in many accounts.  Yet, in responding to yet another sizable budget gap, today’s proposal relies on a combination of over $627 million from one-time revenue sources and $450 million in tax increases, and that’s on top of the millions of dollars in additional tax increases that have been approved in recent years, including a $900 million increase in the sales tax implemented in 2009.

In order to put our state on a steady path toward economic prosperity and future balanced budgets, we need to ensure that the spending proposed by the Senate Ways and Means Committee can be sustained without continuing to resort to one-time fixes and burdening struggling household budgets with more taxes.  We must always remember that we live in uncertain economic times and the robust economic recovery we’ve hoped for hasn’t materialized.  Rather than continuing to raise taxes by millions of dollars, we need to address the real problems of unsustainable state spending and the need to create more jobs and enable a stronger economic recovery than the one we’re experiencing.

As we move forward in the budget process and prepare for next week’s floor debate, the Senate Republican Caucus will be looking for every opportunity to strengthen fiscal discipline in the process and to promote the type of sustainable job growth we need to generate the additional revenues that will help the state navigate through an uncertain economic climate.”

###

 



To view a copy of the proposed budget, click here.

Today I released the following statement regarding the resignation of Commissioner Killins:

Senator Tarr’s Statement on the Resignation of Early Education and Care Commissioner Sherri Killins

 

Boston- Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester) released the following statement today regarding the resignation of Early Education and Care Commissioner Sherri Killins:

“While the Governor continues to tout his costly transportation and education initiatives to the citizens of the Commonwealth, Commissioner Dr. Sherri Killins was receiving a six-figure salary for a job that apparently didn’t require her full attention while the taxpayers continued to pay her full salary.  Unfortunately, the administration believes it prudent to continue to pay Commissioner Killins for several more months as an outside consultant to “ease” the transition of leadership.

The economy is still in a fragile state of uncertainty, and it is inappropriate to ask the taxpayers to pick up the tab of this Commissioner’s salary when the Commonwealth is set to lose $6.3 million dedicated for Head Start from the Federal Government due to the blanket cuts caused by sequestration earlier this month.

Government needs to strive to eliminate the loss of public dollars, and we can’t afford to pay more than full-time salaries for part-time employees.  It is unacceptable to ask taxpayers to pay almost $2 billion more in raised revenue when the Commonwealth’s fiscal house is far from being in order.

I hope the Governor will at the very least take a strong look at his hiring practices.  The citizens of the Commonwealth deserve so much more than a part-time education chief making more than three times the median household income, a DTA Commissioner who failed to properly manage our welfare system, and a road menace State Highway Safety Director.

So while the resignation of Commissioner Dr. Killins comes as welcome news, the recent string of employment failures of high ranking government officials is most disturbing.  I hope the Governor recognizes these failures, and takes action to prevent them in the future.”

 ###